Can I get a home loan on one income with children?
Short answer
Yes. Lenders assess a single-income household with dependants against the Household Expenditure Measure, adding a set living-cost allowance for each child — commonly several hundred dollars a month each. Some lenders count Family Tax Benefit and child support as income, which can materially change the outcome for the same household.
- Expense benchmark
- Household Expenditure Measure (HEM) or your declared costs
- Per-child allowance
- Several hundred dollars per month, per lender policy
- Family Tax Benefit
- Accepted by some lenders, excluded by others
- Child support
- Often accepted with a court order or formal agreement
A single income with children is not an edge case — it is a very common Australian household. It is also a scenario where lender choice does most of the work, because the allowance for dependants and the treatment of family payments are pure policy decisions.
How dependants are assessed
Lenders compare your declared living expenses against the Household Expenditure Measure and use the higher figure. HEM increases with each dependant, so a family of four is assessed against a materially higher floor than a couple — regardless of how frugally you actually live. Declaring unrealistically low expenses does not help; it simply gets overridden by the benchmark.
- Childcare is a separate expense on top of the HEM allowance while children are pre-school age.
- Private school fees are treated as a committed expense where they are being paid.
- Being the sole income earner does not attract a penalty in itself — the dependants do.
Family payments and child support
- Family Tax Benefit A and B: accepted by some lenders, often only for children under a set age.
- Child support: commonly accepted with a formal agreement or court order plus evidence of receipt.
- Carer and disability payments: policy varies widely; some lenders accept them in full.
- Child Care Subsidy: usually netted against childcare costs rather than counted as income.
Practical levers for single-income families
- Clear or reduce consumer debt — with a higher expense floor, every $100 a month matters more.
- Use the First Home Guarantee or Family Home Guarantee where eligible to avoid LMI on a low deposit.
- Consider a longer loan term to lower the assessed repayment.
- Choose a lender that counts your family payments, rather than accepting the first assessment you receive.
How XLOANS helps with this scenario
We check the policy before an application is lodged, not after. That means confirming with the lender's own guidelines that your situation fits — tenure, income treatment, credit file, deposit source — so the enquiry on your file is one that has a genuine chance of approval.
Our service costs you $0. We are paid an ongoing commission by the lender for as long as your loan stays with them, which is why reviewing your loan later matters to us as much as settling it now.
Book a free 15-minute chat
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Frequently asked questions
This page is general information only and not financial advice. Lending criteria, rates and government schemes change — speak to an XLOANS broker for advice tailored to your situation. XLOANS is a Melbourne-based mortgage broking service.
Book a free 15-minute chat
Pick a time that suits you and an XLOANS broker will call to talk through your situation — no cost, no obligation.
Get a straight answer on your situation
A free 15-minute chat is usually enough to tell you which lenders fit your scenario — before anything touches your credit file.